The Business Benefits of Making the Short-List

Being short-listed for awards is a rewarding experience for companies of all shapes and sizes – the warm glow that comes with the satisfaction of recognition, the pride, the anticipation of triumph. Equally advantageous however, are the business benefits to be reaped from such achievements, and the resulting publicity to be gained.

Well known entrepreneur Simon Woodroffe OBE, founder of YO! Sushi and well known for his role in the first series of BBC2's 'Dragon's Den', is an old-hand when it comes to awards, and his accolades have proved great catalysts for business development. With the 1999 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and finalist status in the 1999 Real Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year under his belt to name but a few, he is the keynote speaker at this year's Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise 2007. He reflects on his experience of winning awards in business and the effect the experiences have had on his company.

• Recognition

Having been both a winner and a finalist on several occasions, Simon believes that the recognition associated with such achievements is one of the most important factors. "In my experience, being able to tell potential customers and employees that you were a finalist in this or a winner in that, makes a crucial difference to the business's bottom line. Awards are held in high esteem by both the corporate and consumer industries because people are aware of the stiff competition they attract, and the efforts involved in entering them in the first place. A certain ranking in an award enables the outside world to benchmark your company against your competitors, and may well drive customers to your door as a result."

• Confidence

"Awards are also a real confidence booster," Simon continues. "It can be difficult in business to know whether you're taking the right direction at times, and a lack of confidence, characteristic of young businesses, can add to this stress. Entering awards and getting to the finalist stages, or better still, winning them, is self affirming for entrepreneurs, and reassures them that their work is of a sufficiently high standard to be worthy of widespread recognition and appraisal, all attributes that will help raise the profile of their company.

• Motivation

"Awards also help with the motivation required to move forwards in business, which can be especially welcome in times of stress," comments Simon. "Even the most successful entrepreneurs lack drive and commitment from time to time, so boosting it by securing an award or commendation is great for the future of the company."

• Courage

It takes courage to enter awards in the first place - you need to overcome the fear of failure, Simon adds. The results can have major implications for courage levels too however, as he outlines: "Earning recognition with an award acts as a reminder to entrepreneurs that they are doing something right. This in turn gives them the courage to continue to try; to take up new challenges and keep striving for the best results."

• Team satisfaction

"Winning awards and prizes is great for team building too," Simon continues. "The individuals that make up the company are responsible for its successes, not just the manager. The achievement should therefore be enjoyed by the whole team. Such successes reflect the fact that staff understand each other and work well together, and usually act as a catalyst for future team building exercises and projects."

"Lots of companies that enter awards are of the impression that there's nothing to be gained from the experience unless they win," Simon continues. He sees this as the wrong attitude. "This couldn't be further from reality - reaching the finalist stage of awards should be recognised as an achievement in itself. I'm sure that the prestige attached to the awards and commendations I've been fortunate enough to win over the last few years has ultimately made a big difference to the success of my company."

The Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise are organised by Enterprise North East Trust (ENET) and sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland and Business Gateway. The Business Gateway service is delivered in the north-east by ENET on behalf of Scottish Enterprise Grampian.

More information on entering the awards can be found at www.grampianawards.com. Entry information is available at Business Gateway outlets and Enterprise North East Trust business centres and offices.

Application forms are available online at www.grampianawards.com and by calling Enterprise North East Trust on 01467 672500. There are five categories in the 2007 Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise. Winners will receive a unique, handcrafted trophy and the awards are one of the few which have a cash prize of up to £5000.

Entrants are now being sought for the five categories which are:

• New Business Award
• Young Business Award
• Business Growth Award
• The Alick Buchanan Smith Spirit of Enterprise Award
• Sir Ian Wood Award for Innovation

The deadline for first stage applications is Friday 9 March 2007 and the shortlist of finalists will be announced on 16 April 2007. The awards ceremony will take place on 7^th June at Ardoe House Hotel, by Aberdeen.

Ends

Picture Caption: Simon Woodroffe is the keynote speaker at this year's Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise.

For further information contact:

Sally Wallis

Tricker PR

9 Victoria Street

Aberdeen

Telephone 01224 646491

Mobile 07780 680751

Email swallis@trickerpr.com